I’ve been thinking a lot about dog poo | Adrian Chiles

I’ve been thinking a lot about dog poo | Adrian Chiles

There was a time when nobody picked up after their dogs – and it would have been considered disgusting to do so. What caused the change in attitude? A PE teacher from Cardiff called Tony is frozen solid after being caught in an avalanche in 1979. There he remains until global heating sees to his thawing and he pops up in the present day, exactly as he was back then. Comedy ensues. This is make-believe, by the way; it’s the premise of Mike Bubbins’ BBC series Mammoth . In the masterful opening scenes, to the sound of Gerry Rafferty’s Get It Right Next Time, we see Tony being scornful, angry, frightened and disgusted by four things that didn’t happen before his big freeze. He scoffs at a bloke carrying a baby in a sling, gives a charity chugger very short shrift, and jumps out of his skin when a youth on a hoverboard zips past him. But it was Tony’s disgust at a woman picking up her German shepherd’s poo that got me thinking. When did picking up dog poo become the thing to do? Or, put another way, when did just leaving it there become the thing not to do? When did we start becoming disgusted at those who didn’t pick it up rather than those who did? This is a pretty seismic cultural shift, I’m sure you’ll agree. Continue reading...

England’s T20 World Cup plans hit by Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed visa delays

England’s T20 World Cup plans hit by Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed visa delays

Indian government yet to issue visas to spinners Ahmed and Rashid unlikely to fly to Sri Lanka this week England have had a setback in their preparations for the T20 World Cup next month with the Indian government yet to issue visas to the spinners Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed. The delay means that both players, who have Pakistani heritage, are unlikely to travel with the rest of the squad this weekend for six warm-up matches against Sri Lanka, and it is unclear when they will join their teammates. The visa delays have not come as a surprise to the England and Wales Cricket Board, which has become accustomed to the Indian government’s bureaucratic approach in recent years due to their worsening diplomatic and political relations with Pakistan. Continue reading...